Romania is "fully prepared" to join the Schengen area, Romanian prime minister Florin Citu told his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in a phone conversation on Monday, January 25.

"Yesterday [e.n. Monday] I had a telephone conversation with the prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. We analyzed the promising prospects for cooperation between Romania and the Netherlands, focusing on strengthening economic relations and boosting political dialogue," Citu wrote in a Facebook post.

"Our legitimate goal of joining the Schengen area was one of the key points reached in the discussion with prime minister Rutte, to whom I told that Romania is, without a doubt, fully prepared to enter the Schengen area," the Romanian PM added.

The evolution of the pandemic and the vaccination process in the two states were two other topics discussed, Florin Citu also said. 

The Netherlands has opposed Romania's accession to the Schengen area since 2011, according to G4media.ro. In May 2019, during the EU summit in Sibiu, the Dutch prime minister said that Romania would be ready for admission to the Schengen area "when it complies with the rule of law and democracy."

In December 2018, the European Parliament adopted a report supporting the Schengen membership for Bulgaria and Romania.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Ilona Andrei)